travelAlot

If anyone is visiting Vegas and would find the Orleans acceptable, FYI that they just released an incredible promo deal. $40 for the weekend dates (Fri Sat Sun), $25 for the weekdays. LAB2008 is the promo code you can enter on the Orleans/Coast Casinos' website to get this rate. Apparently inventory is plenty and the rate is being offered so that folks with existing reservations can't cancel (72 cancel window has closed for Fri-Sat arrivals so rooms are there for the taking -- and cheaper than PL.

Only coupon that I know of is a nominal rebate via Entertainment Book 2008 -- only $10 good for 1 night or 10 nights ($10 total rebate).

Not to be disrespectful, but you really need to do your homework to ensure that you end up with a hotel that you are happy with. Check the out the rates on the 5-star hotels' proprietary websites. This will somewhat gauge what is more likely, although PRICELINE will often get a set number of rooms at a set rate to sell for a specific property (i.e. lowest-priced retail rate may not be what you end up with). I would also sign up on each website for their email deals (usually the good ones aren't for weekend nights but you never know). Check various Vegas-related travel sites, etc. If Trump is a deal-breaker, then South Strip has only one 5-star -- THE Hotel at Mandalay Bay -- you can be assured of if successful (just don't use Strip North in any free rebidding). Also the $249 is a counter-offer. PRICELINE would LOVE to sell you the room at that price. If you bid $150 and were counter-offered at $249, possibly you could use free rebids -- again read the FAQs (we want you to get a hotel in the zone you desire so it's really important) -- in increments of maybe $10 from $150 until you are accepted. If I remember right re: the previous accepted 5-star bids on here, about $170-190 range is what has been accepted. Keep on monitoring that as inventory can suddenly change (I had a situation like that for a May trip....no success over and over and then someone else accepted at my desired rate for the same dates and I jumped on it for my trip). Option B, if you absolutely desire the Ventian/Palazzo, is trying HOTWIRE. Price may be slightly higher per night but, if there is no non-smoking icon and there is a casino icon, then you know it aint the Trump. Only problem is that Venetian/Palazzo have rarely shown on Hotwire. Good luck and be careful so that you get something that you're happy with.

With Vegas especially, I recommend checking all the Harrah's properties individually via hot Deals rates for the most standard rooms. Avoid Imperial Palace. Consider the Rio, which though off-central Strip, has great rooms and a free continuous Strip shuttle (5 mins to Caesars) if you dont want to deal with the parking garage hassles -- and is closer to center Strip than Luxor/Mandalay Bay. The MGM properties (Luxor, TI, Mirage, Monte Carlo etc) have promos on their websites. I'd also use a secondary email to sign up for each casino hotel's emails/deals, i.e. TI just had a great deal valid for 72 hours only (ended on Thursday) that would've applied to your stay. For your dates, I would also strongly recommend booking a cancellable back-up. Typically you get charged the 1st night rate as a refundable deposit, and it locks in the rate in case your PL bidding isn't successful. For example the hot Deal rate for Flamingo is $110 for 24th and $85 for 25th, which would put you under the $100/night threshhold. Yes, i know it's not a 4-star or in the $60 range. But it is too risky to bid 3-star North Strip because of Imperial Palace, Riviera, Strat etc. (one of those aforementioned properties is showing at $45/night on HOTWIRE)....and 3-star Strip South could get you the Trop or Excalibur or a Luxor upgrade. Also dont forget to be creative and look at all options. For example, Hilton Grand Vacations (Hilton-owned and also used as a timeshare with more weekend demand) is coming up at a $98 pre-paid (nonrefundable) rate and $109 normal rate (I believe you could knock the $109 to $98 if a AAA member). Friend stayed there once, beautiful property, pool, kitchenette, view, no casino/smoke, very impressive albeit small room. It is North Strip though but if I had a chance at that rate, I wouldn't think twice. It's not 4-star per se based on no fullservice restaurant/entertainment amenities. I'm not so much recommending this place specififcally, just using it as a good example of what may be out there if you do your homework. Good luck.

One footnote to anyone who's looking for Labor Day weekend rooms and would be fine with Alexis Park Resort. The property's publoished rate has gone down to $69/night and HOTWIRE currently offers it for $66. When I bid $58, the retail rate had dropped to $89 and HOTWIRE showed a $79 match. Therefore, if bidding I would start bidding closer to $50/night, as you have 1 for-sure rebid zone (Nellis) and likely another or two (Strip South 3-star very unlikely for SouthPoint on a holiday weekend Saturday night and same with Strip West re Orleans/Gold Coast as long as Artisan is a 2.5-star). The other zone rebids are likely free rebids based on current bookings/circumstances but you never know (Strip South or Strip West), i.e. like the FAQs say, you are taking a risk even if a calculated one. So I'd keep it to UNLV/Convention Ctr zone and then the Nellis fre 3-star rebid. My hunch is that at $50 you will be accepted and, if rebidding with Nellis, $54 should do the trick. FYI in case any of you or doing a last-minute holiday trip, thought I'd pass this along.

In case this helps, my recent PL experience is that every winning stay has the ability for the "add a night" feature. (If it doesn't show up on your winning bid page, I think you can search for it through the FAQs section, etc.) A night on the front or back end of the original stay and, if accepted, two separate confirmation numbers that you bring to the hotel's attention at check-in. For both of my successes in the last year, I specifically bid for the 3 weekend nights because my research indicated that inventory might be more freely/cheaply available. Once I had a successfully accepted bid, then I tried the "add a night" feature. In Chicago right before Xmas 2007, my $75 Intercontinental stay (I was targeting the Hyatt which was $40/night cheaper retail rate and voila IC came up as a pleasant surprise) was extended with the Thursday night and accepted at the same rate (plus new PL fees). In Montreal, because there is a wide quality difference between 3-star hotels (Hyatt is nearly 4-star, Doubletree should be 2.5), I mirrored a successful Hyatt Fri-Sat-Sun bid and was successful at $68/night. Especially given how Hyatt Montreal's rates jumped on Tuesday/weekdays. Then I tried the "add a night" feature, was rejected at my $68 weekend price but counter-offered (with a guarantee of the Hyatt) at $77. Yes, the PL fees ($9ish) were added to the extra $9 plus taxes, but it was well worth it to have a continuous 4-night stay at the Hyatt -- and my cost averaged the low $70s for a hotel room that averaged $200+/night. Besides the rebid to add a night, be ready for the counteroffer which, unlike regular bidding, is compelling consideration as the hotel (if you accept the c-o) is guaranteed.

I think the question is whether you really want to roll the dice regarding hotel. Most casino hotels will try to accommodate regarding bed type/number and smoking preference, but even if you book direct with them, there is generally no guarantee until arrival -- because availability determines what they can assign to you. Regarding Priceline, you are only guaranteed the accommodation for two people. As far as Vegas is concerned, if you were at a Marriott or other 3+-star traditional chain hotel, I believe the extra person (especially kids) is not an issue as long a there are enough available rooms. But Vegas is a way way different animal regarding extra people and charges, and it's usually non-negotiable. As far as the Golden Nugget is concerned, I believe that yes they will charge you because of its policies (but that would be the same if you were at Harrah's or Planet Hollywood etc). Priceline will not intervene because the hotel has fulfilled what was promised. One possible compromise would be to check HOTWIRE via a search for at least 3 people (hotels typically won't force 3 people to cram into one bed and the 3-person reservation assures 2 beds...it is possible in a pinch you could get a king and a rollaway but I doubt it). GN is the only downtown 4-star I believe on Hotwire so it's pretty identifiable. If successful, you might want to call the hotel a few days before arrival and verify the two beds guarantee. And at check-in, naturally do so yourself without the whole family (i.e. "my wife and kid...singular...are out in the car" etc). Price-wise, try to compare recent successful PRICELINE bids for about same day/time (i.e. what PL might accept) plus $20/extra person vs. Hotwire with 2 adults 1 child -- to see which would be more advantageous. Hope this helps and good luck.

Change in plans via PRICELINE successful bid at low rate ($58) accepted for Alexis Park Resort. Plan C I suppose. Winning bid posted on the PL Vegas board

I was kinda like Pavlov's Dog on this success. Been mildly looking for a hotel toward the Hard Rock/east of Strip for Sat the 30th (of Labor Day weekend) -- early evening flight arrival and a 4-star hotel lined up for Sun-Mon-Tues. So needed a decent place to crash, catch some nightlife/nice meal but not deal with craziness of the Strip. When I saw Alexis Park showing on Hotwire for $79 and AP's website showed an $89 rate, I knew a bid in the $60 range would probably do it. Had just been rejected yesterday at $55 & $58. With only 1 rebid zone (Nellis and maybe Near Strip West as Artisan appears to be 2.5 stars/hasn't come up in awhile), I didn't want to get cute given that the window of opportunity might only be a day or so. I assumed mid-$60s would do it but went at $58 with the idea I could up the 2nd bid. Maybe coulda gone a bit lower but still ended up with what is typically a mid-week rate -- not a holiday weekend Saturday rate. Btw 2.5 stars didn't appear to be viable with Hyatt Place fairly booked (no danger of Terribles given its no-Saturday arrival policy) and St. Tropez (a truly nasty/run-down property near Alexis Park). ...Residence Inn Hughes center appears to be viable but the St Tropoz risk wasn't worth it. Big thanks to BB Hotwire hotel list -- Alexis has extra icons for opaque hotels and less (no resort designation) for VP. This info, combined with AP's retail rate and TripAdvisor match, had me bidding with confidence. To anyone else thinking of the AP for that weekend, AP's website shows an $89 rate across all days, weekend or weekday (from Fri 29th through 1st week of Sept). I would still try an opening bid toward the low $50s, then rebid around my bid amount. Used the PRICELINE link from this website to initiate my bid.

For future bidding/planning in Vegas, don't forget to check the hotel/casino "deals" links. I've been there done that myself as far as budget and Vegas. Just happened to notice your dates and, for example, Imperial Palace (not the life of luxury by any means but great location if you want the Strip) was $89-85-35 for the 3 nights in a standard tower room as of 8/9 (average $70/night). Which factoring in PL fees, would be about $5/night more than PRICELINE. Just happened to be aware of this as a co-worker is going there for the national rodeo which should pack the rooms as well. The rates don't always align like that especially on holiday/event weekends. You still got a great deal and will be in a decent location. FYi in case this helps for the future for you or anyone else.

Unless things change, we booked a cancellable Gold Coast rate of $77 (Coast Casinos matched Expedia / Hotels.com rate) as my travel companion wanted to be closer to stuff (and then, lol, after booking the GC said how the Doubletree would've been great -- I can't win ha ha). Doubletree opaque HOTWIRE rate and Doubletree proprietary rate both are gone. May perhaps bid on 3-star UNLV/Near Strip East on PRICELINE...otherwise staying with GC. Thanks for the advice and direction.

Given how rates have dropped somewhat, it may be worth a shot to pull up your Priceline reservation (via the PRICELINE link on this site) and try the "add a night" feature. You know upfront that the 27th won't be offered at $60/night but most likely you will receive a counteroffer -- the amount, if somewhat reasonable (toward $100), may be worth the convenience of staying at the same hotel for your entire stay. I kind of doubt that it will be reasonable given that it's a sat night in Vegas at PH, but you never know. For other cities/hotels with less weekend variance, I succeeded at the same rate booked and about 10% over the rate booked. Just a thought....it's kind of a free shot, may be worth a try if you are still looking for the 27th.

Congrats, I'm glad it worked out and at a great deal. Never stayed there, always wanted to, and been to Vegas lots. I was only suggesting to doublecheck posted rates that may require a bit of digging on the proprietary website -- a colleague on a travel advisory board tried PL for the 1st time recently and despises it because she bid $20/night above the normaly rate and was, lol, naturally accepted. $105 is about as low as I've ever seen Caesars.

Wow, I do use different names between the two boards and, while I always always link through this board's links because the board/moderator are extremely respectful/polite toward me and other folks (many of whom are newbies), I will occasionally add info about a bid in case it provides useful bidding reference to others. I better be careful or else, huh, LOL? The problem that "she" doesn't get is that many folks, if they have specific advice or reference from her/her board, would GLADLY consider going through her link -- and her contemptful attitude toward folks who don't dot their Is and cross their Ts exactly the way she insists is why TOBB is losing revenue. For me, it's a slam-dunk to place every bid/purchase through this board's link -- regardless -- as a result. All I can say is "wow."

How you proceed depends on your preferences. I would book one hotel or the other -- most require just the 1st night's deposit and it is is refundable if your plans change and you cancel within 72 hours of arrival -- but like I mentioned (I cannot stress this enough), you MUST check the terms/conditions when/before booking. This way, if rates suddenly cfhange (as Mandalay's special indicates), you won't be kicking yourself. Because your stay is mid-week, you may possibly be able to do better than the TI rate on Priceline. You don't want to roll the dice in hoping that you succeed when you have the chance to guarantee a rate. As far the hotels and their location, that again comes down to your preferences and logistics...i.e. Mandalay vs TI...if you won't have a rental car, I would think you'd much prefer the center-Strip Treasure Island...and if 5-stars are a must, then THE Hotel would be a preference based on the bookable rate. BOGO breakfast coupon wouldn't be a big deal to me -- in Harrah's courtyard (coming from Flamingo), they're always handing out $5-off Flamingo/Harrahs buffet coupons which would make breakfast $9.99 (many coffeeshops with under-$10 breakfast specials, plus um ehr a Dennys in that area). TI may even give you a coupon book (Harrahs' properties do so it'd make sense that an MGM-affiliated property would offer incentives to its guests to dine and gamble on the premises).

I've stayed there before and would suggest using the self-park underground garage across the street (the northernmost east-west street that the hotel borders) at least when you get there. That said, I would ask the hotel staff and also walk around the vicinity looking for a garage/lot (maybe an Eaton Centre periphery lot) that might have a reasonable overnight rate (last time I stayed toward Carlton/Younge and we found a $8-10 rate for a lot nearby vs deal with hotel's $20 rate). I know on weekends (beginning Friday night) the rate at the aforementioned underground lot is fairly reasonable a downtown parking lot in big cities go (around $10-13 if I remember right) -- and I believe Labor Day is celebrated in Canada (so you may be able to get a decent rate for the last 4 nights). Also related to the hotel, if you haven't been to that hotel/Toronto at all or very often, it won't hurt to ask if they have a higher-level floor available in a nice way. Once when we stayed there we were complimentarily upgraded to concierge level and it was nothing short of awesome. Hope this helps and have a great trip.

Wasnt able to edit my original post so adding this: Hotwire I believe messed up as its non-opaque sister sites Expedia and Hotels.com show the Clarion as a 2.5-star...

That's a hell of a deal. 5-star success at Venetian I remember never being lower than $99/night and that was a couple years ago (Venetian just had a summer promo based on average daily temperature and offered $98 rates for certain days). However I believe that Mandalay Bay is 4-stars (extremely upper-4-star ala Caesars Palace) and THE Hotel at Mandalay is what is 5-star -- so for a 5-star, you'd want to bid no more than $115-120/night to save a significant amount of money (with PL's fees $125/night bid would equal THE Hotel's $130 rate). That said, I would review the promotion details, especially if there is any cancellation window without any penalty (i.e. full refund of deposit). Some promo rates require full pre-payment AND stipulate no refund (i.e. if canceled, you forfeit all deposit/pre-payment). If there is flexibility, I would immediately book to lock in that tremendous rate. And then you can bid knowing what your pricepoint is -- i.e. go for 5-stars starting at $100/night, raise by $3-4/night until you max out at $115-116/night or 4-stars at $80/night, knowing you have Mandalay as a fall-back (and an excellent fall-back at that). One good indicator of PRICELINE inventory may be HOTWIRE -- PL is always 15-20% cheaper but when you see rates around the low $100s for the 4.5-stars (Mandalay, Caesars etc) and 5-stars, then you know PL may be worth bidding for. Also don't forget the other top hotels' proprietary websites -- i.e. Venetian/Palazzo, Mandalay, Caesars, etc -- and be sure to sign up for their email promotions lists (sometimes there will be unadvertised promotions especially for low-occupancy times of the year). Please if you do bid or purchase direct, look for the support page links from this website -- that allows the website to be up and running so that everyone can help each other out. Good luck....hope this helps.

I've seen Caesars coming up quite a bit lately on HOTWIRE. The big thing is the 4.5-star rating. But I do recommend checking Harrah's own hot Deals rates and also logging into your Total Rewards account on the reservations page -- sometimes you'll end up with a comparable rate which via direct booking offers a no-penalty cancellation in case any plans change. Example -- Labor Day week (I'll be visiting around then and had been checking out rates). FYI in case this helps.

In case this helps future Hotwire customers, keep in mind that Hotwire is owned by Expedia and its inventory will correspond to Expedia's star rankings. Plus many properties will be IDed on Hotwire Packages, showing hotel name and star class and amenities. If considering Hotwire, I always go to Expedia to get an idea of rankings beforehand; with Priceline, I do a regular hotel search for the same purpose. Sometimes the Hotwire star inflation can work to your advantage, as far as isolating desirable hotels that would otherwise be lumped together with very undesirable properties in a Priceline zone -- if rated properly. In Denver, the Sheraton/Adams Mark's 3.5-star rating and amenities distinguish it from the very undesirable PL 3-star Red Lion. In the Breckenridge/Silverthorne skiing areas, the LaQuinta is considered a 3-star -- yes LaQuinta, lol -- even though it should be a 2-star like the Ramada and Days Inn are rated on PL. LaQuinta property is way nicer (maybe pushing 2.5 only because of an Old Chicago restaurant that adjoins it) with more stuff around it, so the 3-star inflated rating -- verified on Expedia at the time of booking -- actually helped distinguish it from the risk of a successful PL Ramada bid. For a Montreal trip, when Hotwire's correctly rated Hyatt Regency (4-star) was at a decent price, I knew through that and winning bidder postings for similar dates that it was get-able on PL (which rates it as a 3-star). FYI...in case this may be helpful to future bidders, thought I'd pas this along.

Totally agree but the Golf icon has been the one flag for the Adams Mark/Sheraton. Night and day between quality and location regarding the Warwick, the only other regular 3.5 downtown Denver hotel on HOTWIRE (regular being not a boutique ala, plus Marriott City Center rarely is included inventory). All of those aforementioned properties are 3 stars on Priceline, which is a huge problem if you desire downtown location and get the Red Lion by the Broncos stadium (better odds during broncos home game weekend but still rolling the dice). As such HOTWIRE is so much better of an option.

FYI, in case you weren't aware, this used to be Amerisuites (Hyatt bought the brand and renamed it in the last year or so, and is considerably more aggressive with its inventory on Priceline/Hotwire).

I'm 99% sure on this one. Hotwire has rarely been showing non-casino, under-4-star hotels via Vacation Packages. But the opaque search's amenities -- Airport Shuttle, Pool, Restaurant -- and TripAdvisor clues (2.0 rating, 40+ reviews, last review April '08) match exactly to this property. Somehow the Expedia/Hotwire folks deem this a 3-star but fortunately Priceline has it as 2-stars. The only other potentially matching hotel in that zone (the shuttle being key amenity) was the Atrium Suites, which came up alot a few months ago on Hotwire but is now not accepting standard reservations because of renovations (hotel is closed for that). So it may be a great idea to add this to the list so that folks know this could be the sheep-in-wolves-clothing, not-so-good surprise if they book it.

Just to add to IDing the Sheraton Denver (formerly Adams Mark), there will be 7 amenities ending with "Golf" icon. I live in Denver and have directed people to this (the downtown 3 stars are alright on HOTWIRE & PRICELINE, but the Red Lion is 1.5 miles from downtown near the football stadium) as the Sheraton totally rocks -- and most importantly can be easily distinguished on HOTWIRE.

Heya, thereuare, that makes perfect sense. Will ponder that (friend I'm going with is Silver Elite w/Hilton so the upgrade and extra points may be worth it). Still looking at bids closer to Strip (we have the Rio for the other 3 nights close to $55/night). If I do book, I'll make sure it's via your HOTWIRE or hotel support page links. Thanks again